Summertime Blues

For any of you residing in the UK who think the school holidays are going on for too long then please give some thought to us poor moms in USA. We have three months. YES I SAID THREE MONTHS of summer holidays. There are only so many camps the kids can go to before the coffers run dry and mother starts to go slowly insane.....

I think the reasoning behind the three month holiday is because in many parts of the USA it is boiling hot and kids without air con would melt into their desks. So I understand it I just think they should have year round school with a week off every month or something like that.

I had a good laugh at this blog post by Hurrah for Gin called How to Lazily Entertain Your Kids this Summer and it made me wish my kids were small and could spend seven hours a day with a watering can and a paddling pool rather than an ipad and cooking a cake while leaving sixteen pans for me to clean up.

But look at that post for some great tips- it is really rather hilarious!

So yes, I have been going dotty....I have been seeing spots in front of my eyes. Yes I am channeling Seurat and just started dotting around until I made this cute little polka dot fox.

My little fox is available at BoomBoomPrints which is a really fun company that creates art and clothes for little ones. The guys and gals at BoomBoom are really cool and friendly so I'd recommend them if you've ever wanted to see your art emblazoned on a t-shirt or tote bag.

SPECIAL OFFER! Use code SA15ATF at checkout to get 15% off any of my products throughout August.

Click on these items to go to the shop page:

How's your summer been going? Are you losing your sanity?

Linking up to Parenting Pin It Party, Paint Party Friday,  Brilliant Blog Posts



Don't be koi

This week has been a bit of a wash out.....pouring rain.....lashings and lashings of rain. I live near a stream and it always floods in the rain and my poor neighbor's shed slid into the stream!

Looks very surreal doesn't it.....like the tornado aftermath from the Wizard of Oz. It was really wedged in tight and they tried to pull it out with a crane but didn't get anywhere. In the end they had to smash it to bits.

I don't mind the rain because it means I don't have to water the plants every day. I did manage to create a fishy painting this week. The bubbly effect comes from an experiment with throwing salt on the watercolor paint. It was a really fun project and I left it all loose with lots of movement.

Koi and Lilypads  - acrylic inks and watercolor (with a pinch of salt)

Other than that there's a great article by a fellow fun Brit Claire Bolden McGill about me and my art entitled 'the Unconventional Expat' in the latest issue of Global Living which you can download for free here. 

Or easier still read it here. In the interview I give my unique view on all things USA.......including British v American parenting:



And finally.....I woke up from a nightmare and thought Trump was trying to be president.....tell me it isn't so.....

How's your week been? Was it a washout? Don't be koi let's hear all about it!!

Linking up to Paint Party Friday so come join in the fun!